


Serket Chase

by Miki_and_company



Category: Homestuck
Genre: (i mean kinda cause human trafficking duh), (not excessive) violence, Adults all the others, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Human, Blind Terezi, Corruption, Dave and rose are married but not like in love or anything, Human Trafficking, Humanstuck, Kid John, Multi, Teen Kanaya, Teen Vriska, fictional city, idk really, kid Aradia, kid Dirk, late 21th century, quirks are retained, ships, some sort of odd mix between action and sitcom, teen Jade, teen Latula, toddler roxy, varying character ages
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-14 16:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 17,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5749642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miki_and_company/pseuds/Miki_and_company
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a pretty near future in the human world, where never any sburb was played, Aranea Serket and her Daughter, Vriska Serket, and human Trafficking pirates working for the omnious bourgeoisie of earth. But the characters we know and love who live apart from all of that will find themselves much more involved than they originally planned, Especially Prosecutor Pyrope who will make her duty to make the Serkets (and they're bosses) pay for their crimes agains't humanity. Not to mention that their usual trade is now shadowed by their megalomaniacal plans to use cloning to establish an autoritarian ruling over everywhere, apparently governing the world from the shadows not being sufficient for our power-hungry blue bloods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. sailing mindfangs

The boat was making its way peacefully through the southeast coastal area of the Atlantic. Aboard, leaning thoughtfully on the gunwale, was a teenage girl. Well, not any teenage girl. The captain’s daughter. With her tanned, black hair and patched eye, she was feared among the crew, justifiably. With a certain pretention, she was thinking about all the glorious raids she was to perpetuate in her to-be magnificent career. After her first mitigated success, she needed to reassess these certainties of her childhood.  
From behind her the captain approached, and lightly passed her fingers through her daughter’s much longer and feistier hair. They contemplated the beautiful ocean in front of them, and after a short silence, the captain addressed her daughter.  
“You, know, I don’t want you to think you did a poor jo8 out there, Vriska. In fact, this raid was pro8a8ly one of the toughest I’ve seen y8t. You impressed me. You truly are made for this jo8. In fact, when I was your age, I lived on the land and was much more of an intellectual. It took me some time to understand my true calling, which was to become a pir8te.But even the nerdiest of young girl that I was eventually found how to exploit her str8nghts and yearnings for a gr8ter cause. You are several steps ahead of me in that regards.”  
“I know, mom.”  
“How’s your arm? The robotics were graciously offered to us by the Zahhaks, and it should work just as well as a regular arm, if ridden from the feeling of touch. However, your brain ought to know instinctively where your arm is, since it responds to the commands you a giving it. I must admit, with such an arm, along with your eyepatch, you make quite the impressive pir8te. I myself would have liked some battle scars to show for my impressive achievements, I happened to preserve my physical integrity. Life is a 8attle of luck, Vriska, never forget that. The money we make and the orders we follow are all part of a greater plan, a dou8le-cross of worldly importance. Unlike the common folks we trade and have a8oard, we have a destiny, and it is tied to the royalty of this world. All this to say your robot arm is a consequence of your importance in all of this story. Which is why I am enquiring about its functionality.”  
“My arm works fine. The Zahhaks did a good jo8, if I can, I may repay them one day. I am not weak. It’s not a simple lim8 loss which is going to make me renounce my destiny.”  
“Such is the mindset I expected from you, chief officer.”  
“It’s the mindset I expect from myself, captain.”


	2. Meet the pyropes

“…”  
“mom?”  
“L4TUL4?”  
“y34h”  
“WH4T?”  
“ 1 h4t3 to b3 such a buzzk1ll m4m4, but w3’r3 gonn4 b3 l4t3.”  
Terezi jumped out of bed and started to stroll around the room, searching for everything she needed.  
“WH4T T1M3 1S 1T?”  
“ 8:30,” Latula replied, observing her mother try and fail to get herself an unwrinkled suit.  
“YOU 4T3?”  
“ y34h mom, no worr13s.”  
While her mother attempted to gather everything she needed to work, Latula went to the living room and opened the cage to her blind and absolutely rad Lizard, Noglare Von spite, spite for short. Their house, despite being of reasonable size in a decent neighborhood, was quite a mess. This was undoubtedly linked to the fact that Terezi was blind and did virtually no cleaning around the house, but it didn’t seem to particularly bother any of its inhabitants either way. Plushes, many half-eaten by Noglare von spite, were scattered around sporadically, damaged by the morbid games Latula used to play in which they served the role of Foul murderers, helpless victims and double-crossing witnesses. Now bordering on thirteen, she cared much more about video games and skateboarding than she did about romanticising her mother’s job. Many of the rooms’ walls were painted in blackboard paint in a way such that drawing on them with chalk had always been a part of Latula’s life. Even her mother enjoyed it non-trivially, despite the fact she couldn’t see a single thing she drew. She used to tell Latula she simply enjoyed the smell of chalk and the feeling of drawing with it.  
Eventually, her mother finished her accelerated mourning routine and, in the doorway, called for Latula. She grabbed her seeing cane and they both hopped in the self-driving car that brought them to their respective destinations.  
Before getting out of the car, Latula decided to tell her mother something.  
“oh, 4nd, mom. D4d c4ll3d.”  
“YOU M34N K4RK4T?”  
“y3ah, h3.”  
“F1RST OF 4LL H3’S NOT 3V3N YOUR F4TH3R, S3CONDLY, 1 DON’T C4R3.H3’S R34L NOT R4D”  
“ mom, pl34s3 don’t try to us3 my sl4ng, 1t just sounds totz not r4d wh3n you s4y 1t.”  
“W3LL 3XCUUUS3 M3 FOR NOT BE1NG ‘R4D’ BUT M4YB3 1 JUST W4NT TO US3 SOM3 WORDS 1 TH1NK 4R3 COOL FROM T1M3 TO T1M3. NOW G3T OUT OF TH3 C4R.”  
“4lr1ght l3t m3 just gr4b my d3ck.”

On the footsteps on her middle school, Latula met with her best friend, Jade English. The girl was much more cheery and girly than Latula but had a side of her which should never be fucked with, and she respected that. There was also a thing which had been familiar to her the second she first saw Jade, and never understood why, but it simply made it so the natural thing to do seemed to have been to become friends with her. And so she did. Jade had a much more traditional family than Latula, with a little brother, a father, a mother and even a dog named Harley. She lived in a comfortable apartment over a small bakery, but this was only a decoy for her family was actually pretty loaded. Both her parents being fierce business folks, they had acquired quite the empire of baked goods and other associated things (including guns, pet care and pranks) and they even owned a complex on a distant island not far from the big water cities. Jade never bragged though, and to most people she was simply the semi-lunatic daughter of modest bakery owners.

\-----------

Terezi was sitting in the car. She was somewhat upset. Why did Karkat insist on calling her even though they had broken up years ago baffled her, annoyed her, even. And each time she did accept to talk to him, it was always as pointless. He mostly wanted to shout at her and whine, she gathered. Even though he always did that with everyone, he was a special kind of insistent with her. Anyway, she needed to get going.  
She was halfway through her commute when her phone rang. The alarm ring. Karkat. Ugh. She didn’t even bother picking up the phone to ignore his call.  
He called two other times before the lunch break. The third time, Terezi was so annoyed she finally answered.  
“WH4T, V4NTAS?”  
“WELL, MAYBE A ‘HELLO’ WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE POLITE.”  
“M4YB3 NOT C4LL1NG WH3N SOM3ON3 H4S NO 1NTENT1ON OF 4NSERING WOULD H4V3 B33N POL1T3. DON’T YOU H4V3 4 JOB?”  
“AS A MATTER OF FACT, NO, BUT THANKS FOR ASKING. MAY I STILL ASK WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU FOR NOT FUCKING ANSWERING MY CALLS? MAYBE YOU THINK YOU’RE SO OVER THIS BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN APART FOR SO LONG BUT EVEN IF WE DON’T WANT THAT TO EVER FUCKING HAPPEN AGAIN, WELL, GREAT FUCKING NEWS, WE BOTH KNOW THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE’RE GOING TO NOT TALK TO EACH OTHER EVER AGAIN. WE STILL LIVE IN THE SAME CITY, YOU KNOW. AND IF YOU’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TREAT ME LIKE THE ANNOYING EX WHO CAN’T GET THE FUCK OVER YOU THEN I’M GOING TO CONTINUE TO ACT LIKE ONE. WE COULD JUST BE FRIENDS, NO? I WANT TO SEE THE GIRL I RAISED FOR A FEW YEARS TOO, SOMETIMES. YOU’RE A FUCKING PRICK AND YOU KNOW IT.”  
“OH MY GOD, K4RK4T, YOU’R3 SO P4TH3TIC.”  
“YOU KNOW WHAT’S PATHETIC? CHEATING ON ME AND THEN ADMITTING IT ONLY FIVE YEARS LATER BECAUSE YOU’RE FUCKING TIRED OF ME. THAT’S PRETTY FUCKING PATHETIC. HIDING ME THE FACT I’M NOT THE FATHER OF MY OWN DAUGHTER, BREAK UP WITH ME THEN CUTTING ALL CONTACT WITH ME, THAT’S PATHETIC. IF I’M PATHETIC IT’S ONLY BECAUSE YOU MUST HAVE CONTAMINATED ME WITH YOUR FUCKING PATHETIC FILTH.”  
“K4RK4T TH4T W4S SUCH 4 LONG T1M3 4GO. 1 H4V3 MY L1F3 NOW.”  
“I BET YOU’RE STILL WITH HIM. I CAN DEAL WITH THAT. JUST ADMIT IT. I DON’T HAVE TO BE A HASSLE IF YOU DON’T WANT ME TOO. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE FUCKING HONEST.”  
“K4RK4T. 1 H4V3N’T S33N D4V3 1N 4 D3C4D3.”  
“OH, YEAH, SURE, PRETEND LIKE I’M FUCKING NAÏVE WELL GUESS WHAT I’M NOT HAVING ANY OF YOUR BULLSHIT.”  
“WHY WOULD 1 L13 4BOUT TH4T?”  
“BECAUSE IT’S FUCKING CONVENIENT FOR YOU. WELL, GUESS WHAT, I’M NOT PLAYING THAT GAME. FUCK YOU.”  
He hung up. Well, that was pointless as ever. It did get Terezi to think about what happened to Dave though. Not that she had any remaining feelings for him or whatever, but Karkat did make her remember him. She met him on a blog about one of his purposefully shitty comics, and teased him about it. She did enjoy his style though. They hit it on online and eventually met in real life. They had an affair, and eventually she realised the kid was his. Filled with guilt she broke up with Dave and never told Karkat. Well, that was until their relationship took a turn for the sour and to avoid him clinging to her or Latula she told him everything. He did not take it well. She never informed herself on any of Dave’s whereabouts ever since.  
But a Crockersearch can’t hurt, can it? Ought to show what he’s been about for all that time.  
Oh. Still writing comics. Wow. He married that famous writer? They have two children, a toddler girl and a second-grade son? Both he and his wife have movie adaptations of their works soon to be released? How could she have not heard about any of this before? Well, to be honest she did not keep up much with cultural works, for activities like reading comics or even watching movies were pretty complicated due to her handicap. It was doable, simply if she wanted, she could fairly easily close her eyes to any of it (wink wink).  
Time to get back to work. After all, these criminals weren’t going to hit the slammer by themselves.


	3. Chief officer debacles

It was Vriska’s job to watch and direct the crew. Which, ranging from some decent bosuns to incompetent ratings, she made her duty to always bully adequately. The hands walked out of her way for if any of them displeased her or her mother, it wouldn’t be long before they ended up amongst the merchandise, sold to the best buyer. It was the cost of being a member of the most respected corsairs of the seven seas.  
That day as usual she was supervising operations on the ship.  
As she walked boastfully on one of the cruiser’s deck, she saw amidships, on a slightly lower deck, one of her favourite drudge, moping the floor. She screamed at him from a distance.  
“Hey! Pooplord!”  
The young two-wooden-legged rating looked at her in confusion.  
“uH, mE?”  
“ yes, you faltering bilge rat cripple.”  
“ wHAT, uH, DO YOU NEED?”  
“Well, for you to stop 8eing such a loser would 8e nice. 8ut I won’t ask impossi8le things out of you. So instead I’ll just ask you to go up there tie a rope around that cleat.”  
She pointed upwards towards a forgotten cleat, accessible from both of the decks through a ladder.  
“ i, wELL, uH, iT’S TO SAY I CAN’T, uH…”  
“You can’t what?”  
“ cLIMB LIKE THAT. bECAUSE OF MY LEGS.”  
She knew that. She was teasing him because she was amused by his faltering and self-demeaning attitude.  
“ You really wan’t to end up in the 8ay, don’t you? Too 8ad there’s no way we could sell you at a good price otherwise a loser like you would have 8een out a long time ago. It’s a good thing I took pity upon you. Maybe if I show you how a regular person does shit, then you may one day dream to 8e a quarter of that epic.”  
Vriska grabbed the rope and started to climb the ladder leading to the cleat she was mentioning. Atop the ladder she started to tie the rope around it, however, she had difficulty with her robotic arm to do it effectively. She wiggled around a bit, upset at her troubles, and eventually her foot slipped and sent her off the ladder. She managed to grab the rope she had loosely tied and swing a bit from it before letting herself pathetically drop on the deck. The poor boy, who was named Tavros, let out a giggle which inspired a shriek of pure rage from his superior. She started to mumble to herself.  
“I swe8r this f8cking arm if I 8ver c8tch that y8ung 8rat ever ag8in she’s g8ing t8 p8y for that 8rm with her lif8 that’ll te8ch her t8 fu8k up my missi8ns.”  
She stood back up, and, filled with rage, grabbed Tavros by his shirt. With help from her robot arm, she dragged him to the edge of the boat where she wielded him mercilessly, frightening another poor sailor in the process.   
She was about to hit his head on the gunwale when out of apparently nowhere, someone much stronger pulled her from behind. She released Tavros instinctively. She got turned around and punched in the face. She was stunned for a few seconds, but soon enough she could decipher her attackant. A tall man with strange hair, and some sort of weird rags? He was facing her menacingly, grabbing her clothes.  
“don’t do sh*t to tavros doll… that’s not cool.”  
“Wh8 the fu..”  
“you heard me… 1 don’t want to say it tw1ce.”  
The ruckus, in a surprisingly short time, started to round a certain crowd. The recreant-filled crew would not dare lift a finger to defend their superior. They were all a bit baffled by the events. An apparent stowaway was defending a feeble rating from the second highest ranking member of the crew? They could barely fathom what they were witnessing.  
A small whisper was starting to rise from those gathered. Even a laugh or two, sprung from seeing the excessively offended face of their chief officer. The stowaway, understanding he was now the subject of everyone’s attention, left his head, and ever so slightly released his grip on Vriska’s shirt.   
Everyone was stuck in a motionless suspense, as if in a painting, Vriska close enough to the edge of the boat, and her aggressor strong enough, for her to end up in the sea pretty rapidly would he feel threatened. Besides her a confused a terrified Tavros, and all round, befuddled faces, Whispering loudly.   
To break that moment, the captain appeared, along with the assured thumping of her boots.  
“Rel8ase my d8ughter imm8diately,” she asserted.  
He did not move.  
“pLEASE, sTOP, sHE IS MEAN, bUT, uH, tHAT’S NOT A REASON TO PUT YOURSELF IN TROUBLE.”  
“Listen to him, stowaway,” spat Vriska.  
Tavros had talked. The stranger, after a short hesitation, released his grip completely, and surrendered, arms in the air. Aranea addressed him.  
“Good. You just have avoided yourself some cruel death. But do not think you are out of trou8le, 8ilge rat. Take him. And the young sailor too.”  
Three men, those close to the action, circled the stowaway and Tavros. They took them away. It was more than obvious they would end their trip in the brig.  
“It seems like we will 8e shortening our voyage. We will let them out at Atlas,”  
Atlas was a South American Metropolis, erected and developed soon after the melting of the ice caps. City which could have been associated to the Shanghai of the early 21st century in size and merchandize traffic, it was nonetheless one of the richest and most developed places on earth. Only the Water cities located thousands of kilometers up North could pretend to attract more drama or envy.   
“There we will entrust them to someone else. I will take this time to conduct additional business there. Everybody will be granted a two-day leave.”  
A murmur of happiness fell through the carousers among the crew.


	4. Dave and Rose

Rose was sitting at the dining room table arm crossed, in front of her ten year-old son. She had had enough. For at least the third time this year. The both of them, in front of the bay window opening on the city at night looked as if they were about to negotiate some ominous treaty essential to the plot of a James Bond movie. It was not so far removed from the truth.  
“Dirk…you know how I feel towards letting children have their independence and spirit of entrepreneurship, but your behaviour is outright desultory. I have had several calls from your teacher this year concerning your endeavors at school. Apparently being aloof and discourteous wasn’t enough, you had to outright perturb class life. The selling of self-made puppets, I can still work with, but pornographic content? Dirk, I figured I had raised you better than that.”  
“People fail to understand my intent in doing what I am doing.”  
“If your intent is to prove you can do it, then I am afraid that everybody understands that.”  
“I will do what I want.”  
“You won’t.”  
“What the fuck do you mean by that?”  
“Language, mister. I mean that I am your mother, and you are bound to listen to me. To begin with I will confiscate your access to your drawing tablet until I change my mind. Then, you are forbidden to play with your portable console for the same duration of time. And lastly, you will not be allowed to invite John over for a whole month. Have I made myself clear?”  
“Clear enough. I don’t mind being punished. But I don’t think it is really necessary to punish John for my actions.”  
“You’ve said it yourself: you take pride in strengthening your friends. See it as an exercise of trust.”  
“It has nothing to do you with trust.”  
“It has that you broke mine. You are exhibiting so many borderline sociopathic behaviour, Dirk, and it worries me sometimes. You know you can talk to me, even if by the very definition of my motherhood you most likely won’t be enticed to do so before your own adulthood. I would be amused and fascinated by your obvious psychological defects if it weren’t for the fact that I feel responsible for them.”  
At that moment, Dirk’s father entered the soothingly lit lounge of the loft, where co-existed the space allowed to the kitchen, the dining room and the living room. Without a glance to neither his son nor his wife, he opened the refrigerator, an appliance covered in his own purposefully shitty drawings, attached with letter magnets. All around the apartment were framed drawings of his child. This arrangement was oddly accepted by both parties as perfectly natural. In the refrigerator, Dave took a bottle of apple juice and only then did he seem to notice the two-thirds of his family gathered.  
“Ah, Dave. Just in time. I was explaining to your son that he was grounded. He will no longer be allowed to use his drawing tablet and his portable game console. And we won’t receive John home for a month.”  
“what did he do? also that is pretty unfair to jane you know dropping john here gives here a break from time to time”  
“He drew pornographic content at the intent of his classmates!”  
“oh wow isnt he a bit young for that”  
“You think?”   
“absolutely fucking not he is obviously the most mature and ready person to handle such content im telling you”  
“Mom. Dad. Enough sarcasm. I understand. May I go now?”  
“how long has rose had you here?”  
“Fifteen minutes.”  
“wow fifteen minutes with your mother im impressed but no you cant go thats my punishment you need to stay and be lectured some more”  
Dirk sighed. 

Around 8:30, the children were asleep. Usually, that would mean Dave and Rose would work each on their own, what with the fact that they had busy lives. But not that evening. Oddly enough, both were lacking of any urgent task that would’ve required their attention, or felt the need to occupy themselves with any other productive activity. They each poured a glass of wine and sat on their luxurious couch, as would any respectable jet setter with a night at home.  
“Did you pour apple juice in a wine glass, Dave?”   
“yeah”  
“ You are disappointing me.”  
“oh come on now you know i dont like alcohol”  
“I’m teasing you, Dave.”  
“very funny”  
“So…”  
“so what”  
“…”  
“…”  
“So, how is your hater going?”  
“my hater?”  
“Yes, the one you have mentioned to me. The one who has been pestering you for, how long, again?”  
“must be at least seven years”  
“Interesting.”  
“yeah hes still doing his shit”  
“well i think i might actually start to like the guy?”  
“That’s a twisting turn of events.”  
“yeah well way back then he was just cocky and mean but then he started to become more kinda depressive actually but eventually i reached out to him and hes been a self-deprecating constant in my life kinda weird but cool”  
“hes still remembering me from time to time that he does in fact hate me”  
“Hmmm.”  
“i was thinking of meeting him even”  
“Oh?”  
“yeah like a celebrity thing instead of meeting a fan id be meeting a dedicated hater that would be cool”  
“Don’t try to pass it off as ironic to me, Dave, but I see your point. I find your story amusing.”  
“yeah”  
They both sipped their respective drinks thoughtfully.  
“so what about your books”  
“My books are well as ever.”  
“Are you progressing in your eight tome?”  
“Yes. Everything was planned for the start, the story is already perfect, and all which matters now is putting it in words which are lengthy and adequately emotional. I do not have much of a trouble with that. I should be able to send it before May.”  
“well im glad to hear that”  
They once again sipped their drinks thoughtfully.  
An awkward silence fell between the two of them.  
After a moment, Rose asked with a coy voice.  
“Dave?”  
“yeah?”  
“Did we ever love each other?”  
“i dont know”  
“maybe we did”  
“but i think it was more of a feeling thing”  
“I don’t understand.”  
“well yknow”  
“like we met each other and we went along pretty well and we had that feeling like we were meeting at the right time or were predestined to some shit and we got married and shit”  
“but we never really fell in love we kinda just pretended to? like if we didnt it would just have never worked”  
“all of our aspirations and shit”  
“and i like you and all but”  
“not in a wife way i think”  
“even if youre hot and smart”  
“it just feels”  
“weird”  
“I have that feeling too.”  
“yeah”  
“oh boy we went deep with that shit”  
“are we gonna divorce?”  
“I don’t know. What about the children? I don’t have a problem living with you, especially since we are minding our own business most of the time, but maybe we could open out relationship? We could each see somewhere else. You could date that hater of yours.”  
Rose smirked. Dave laughed.  
“haha maybe not but yeah i agree”  
“so we can live our own romantic lives and businesses and keep on living together as friend and parents?”  
“It’s a way to put it.”  
“That’s the way it should always have been.”  
“yeah those ten years were awkward af”  
“actually i already feel much more comfortable”  
“Me too.”  
“its settled then i guess”  
“Indeed.”


	5. Atlas

Vriska was infuriated. Luckily, the sore of the stowaway’s punch (who had revealed himself as a vagrant named Rufioh) wore away quickly. Unlike the limb loss of her last mission, it hadn’t scarred her permanently. However the betrayal of the young Tavros had wounded her in a different way. Once again, she, under all her boasting and self-confidence, felt like she had failed at her mission. As chief officer it was her duty to care for the crew and everything which happened on the boat. Having an unwarranted passenger slip under her nose for weeks, helped by none other than a traitor of such a low rank was simply a hit to her ego. In the last few days of travel, she had laid low, barely insulting only those who had insulted her first (or been really, really impotent) and managed the ship’s affairs without pleasure.  
They had managed to get some information about the prisoners without torturing them (Captain Serket insisted on that point, to the great displeasure of Vriska) and learned that Rufioh had snuck up onto the ship when they had made a halt in Xalapa, in the northern hemisphere. That city was not foreign to Vriska, as it was one of the main cities from where they captured their human merchandise. Its corrupted officials and poor citizens made it extremely easy to conduct their activities unpunished. Rufioh wanted to go where they brought all of the captured souls. He wanted to go to Antarctica.  
Of course, He didn’t want to go as livestock, nor as deadstock for that matter, he wanted to find someone. Just that, he assured. Fair enough. Some lover? Perhaps. It didn’t matter now, as he wouldn’t be sold there. Assuredly, being brought closer to his goals wouldn’t curb him in the least. (Not that he had an un-chill attitude, but in the face of slavery, most people wouldn’t be classified as ‘tamed’ by those who are trying to exploit them. That is simply a fact). Therefore he, along with Tavros, could either be sold on the much smaller slave market of Atlas, or be punished by the dark authority there (which is to say the authority which barely managed anything related to city affairs, but rather dominated the black market and assisted the Empress in her rising).   
In other words, they would guide them to the Zahhaks.  
\------------  
They docked the ship in a city which Rufioh had never known. It was much more impressive in sight than Xalapa, over which an ominous screen of smoke perpetually floated, whereas Atlas’ sky was clear as could be, mainly because all of their power came from the batters. On the pier, people were organized, chatting, and some were even innocuously walking down them. In Xalapa, everyone on the street looked suspicious, down to the children. They wore rags, smoked and ran errands. Prostitutes littered every corner of every byway. Damara fitted perfectly in that décor, so well Rufioh doubted any change in environment could have changed her.  
Tavros and he got stuffed into a luxurious car, both handcuffed. Tavros obviously had spent a few terrible days. For Rufioh, it was nothing unusual. They both stayed silent during the ride, as they had said to each other everything they were afraid of during their captivity. Everything but one thing.  
“hang on, buddy…1t’s gonna be alr1ght”  
“r….REALLY?”  
“we can always hope so…can’t do any harm to hope”  
“iS THAT CALLED CONFIDENCE?”  
“Hey shut up back there.”  
They shut up.  
They also, a few street further, stopped in front of a large tower building. The fancy-looking doors had a sign over them that read “Zahhak Biotechnology and STRENGHT institute and laboratories”.  
“Well, we’re here.”  
The two Serkets got out of the car, and the two Nitrams (The fact that they both shared a name did not imply their relativeness, as the surname was simply a slang for “abandoned”. However, since some of the abandoned, nameless folks did found more or less stable families from time to time, it was also a common surname. As it happens, the two present Nitram were cousins) did too, strongly guarded by three trusted members of the Serket clan.   
It would have been hard for someone who had never seen that type of institution to not feel impressed.   
They entered the building and entered a code in the elevator panel. The doors opened to a luxurious residence, with great halls floored with marble and great painting of gaiting horses and strong men and strong men riding gaiting horses into battle and then some more horses.  
It was somewhat of a bad taste, actually.  
Aranea Serket clacked her strong heels on the marble floor and directly went to the great wooden doors that stood before two splitting corridors which presumably led to private apartments. Suddenly, a distinguished Butler appeared on her side.   
“I need to talk to Sir Zahhak, Aurthour.”  
“I will enquire about his activities.”  
Aurthour opened slightly the wooden doors and entered the great office behind. A few seconds and a sound of cracking glass later, he came back and invited Aranea and Vriska to enter. He closed the door besides him and left through one of the corridors. Tavros and Rufioh were made to wait in the Hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...i have no idea what i'm doing...
> 
> err...i mean WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE NITRAMS? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!! (or actually not because I kind of alternate between storylines with each chapter?) (but I actually think most people don't even like that story that much?) (but i don't actually know because it's not like I get feedback?!?!) (please give me feedback if you want this shit to get any better)


	6. Crocker residence

Latula and Jade were hanging out after school. It was their thing. Most of the time, they strolled around in parks together, Latula practicing her sweet new tricks before either of them went home.  
“Hey, look 4t th4t r34mp!!so s1ck! L3mm3 try 1t!”  
Latual ran up to the staircase ramp from which she slide. Jade was casually following her around, supporting discussion. She had tried skateboarding before, and, frankly, though she enjoyed it, didn’t practice it on a regular basis because of her narcolepsy.   
When Latula finished her trick, Jade joined her down the staircase.  
“hey that was really cool!!  youre getting pretty good at this!”  
“th4nks j4deyz, 1ts 4 pl34sur3 to do tr1ckz for you gurl!!”  
“haha thank you too! Eh don’t you want to come to my house tonight? you can stay for dinner my mother will bake you a cake!! :D”  
“th4t would b3 so r4d! sur3 th1ng 1m com1ng! l3mm3 just do th4t swe33t r4mp on3 mor3 t1m3!”  
“okay!!”  
Both girls climbed up the stairs and Jade, with her long skirt a sleeveless hoodie, sat on a concrete fringe next to it. Latula took some speed and threw herself. But as she was halfway down, a passerby happened to put herself in the way of the young girl. Latula yelled.  
“look out!!!!!”  
But it was too late. The woman and the teen collided brutally. Jade hurried to help them both.  
“oh my !?!are you okay!?!?! ”  
Both victims looked stunned, but unbroken.   
“n4h gurl 1m f1n3”  
Latula’s knees and elbows were scrapped badly.  
“youre bleeding!! :o”  
“And is no8ody going to enquire a8out me?!?”  
The passerby victim of the collision was a middle-aged woman with a certain fancy look. She looked somewhat better than Latula, but her palms were scrapped, her glasses had fallen down and her clothes were torn under her butt.  
She reached around to put her glasses, and with those on looked severely at both of the girls. With a bitter yet calm expression, she got up, dusted her clothes and addressed Latula and Jade.  
“These children now are so entitled and dangerous. If I were you, I wouldn’t act so irrationally. You might find some 8ad people in this world. I sell children like you for breakfast.”  
She grinned ominously.  
Both Jade and Latula shivered. They promptly left the scene, Jade holding Latule by one of her sleeve. They heard behind them the woman laughing. They couldn’t determine whether it was good-hearted or maniacal.   
Jade and Latula took a bus and headed towards Jade’s home. Latula called her mother.  
“mom?”  
“Y3S HON3Y?”  
“ 1 just w4nn4 l3t you know 1m go1ng to j4d3yz pl4c3 now. C4n you com3 4nd p1ck m3 up 4t 7?!”  
“OK4Y. H4V3 FUN.”  
“th4nkz mom you’r3 th3 b3st!!!”  
“1 AM GO1NG TO GO NOW.”  
“Howz4! Lov3 y4!!”  
“JUST H4NG UP.”  
“ok4yy!!”  
Latula hanged up. She winked at her friend.  
“ ;D”  
“;D”  
“;D”  
“;D”  
“okay we can stop now”  
\------  
When Jane opened the door of her apartment over the family bakery, she walked directly onto her mother arguing with a slick man sat at the kitchen table.  
“I am NOT going to the Batterwitch’s party! Tell her to go damn herself! GOT IT?”  
The agent did not respond.  
“I’m not the stupid young ambitious woman I was fifteen years ago, and if she thinks that if I wasn’t contractually bound to bear the name of her stupid company I still would then she has her finger stuck in her eye up to the elbow!”  
Still silence on her interlocutor’s part. She was about to flip the fuck out of the table.  
“JUST GET OUT!”  
She chased the man out with vigorous spoon slaps.   
She then say the children.  
“errrr….”  
What an uncomfortable silence.   
“Oh and shucks busters. Hello, sweetie, hello, Latula. I apologize for that.”  
“1ts ok4y Mrs. Crock3r, 1’m 4 r4d gr1l 1 c4n l3t 1t p4ss.”  
“Call me Jane, I’ve already told you.You’re in luck, I’ve made cake.”  
“mom, you always make cake. id say we always have a preposterous amount of cake!! :P”  
“Hoo hoo, yes, but am I not a baker, after all?”  
“im just pulling your leg, mom ;)”  
“…is your friend okay? She looks hurt!”  
“shes hurt!!”  
“1m f1n3, r34lly, mrs Jane.”  
“No, no, no, I won’t let this pass, this is totally unacceptable! Come here, sweetheart”  
Latula reluctantly followed Jane into the bathroom where she tended to her wounds. From the door, a young kid snuck his head to look inside. He giggled to himself then went away. Once Latula was completely covered in bandages for her knees and elbows, Jane washed her hands and walked out of the bathroom. She stepped on a misplaced dog toy which squeaked exceedingly, terrifying Jane.  
“OH SHUCK BUSTERS!”  
“John!!!”  
But all which came was an eager dog with soft, white fur, quickly followed by Jade.   
“harley, come here!! :)”  
“JOHN!” repeated Jane.  
The young boy reappeared, still giggling.  
“haha gotcha mom!”  
Jane rushed to the kids and playfully captured him, and fondled his hair.  
“no, I got you lil’ trickster.”  
The boy must have been eight or nine of age, had black, chaotic hair and bucked teeth. He resembled his mother a lot. Jade, with her long hair in the same style, also fit the family picture. The only difference between the children and their mother was their slightly darker skin, undoubtedly inherited from their father.  
They, however, had clear-coloured eyes. All of them, either blue or green. Without being overly common in people of colour anywhere, it had become a still existing trait which did not stand out that much. Unlike Latula’s red eyes, which were a recent, inexplicable mutation of the recessive type, which she share with her mother. Karkat Vantas too possessed those eyes, making it even stranger than he did not, in fact, father Latula.   
She smiled. It was nice seeing a family bonding like that. She could understand, she had a very good relationship with her mother too. But when she was about five her parents broke apart and she learned that the one she thought all along was her father, in fact, was not. She had a complicated relationship with her feeling for the one she still called ‘dad’ ever since. She had never met her real father, and didn’t knew whether she wanted to.


	7. hate date?

From: turntechgodhead°crockmail.com  
To: carcinogeneticist°crockmail.com  
hey   
sup  
its strider from the sweet bro and hella jeff webcomic (yeaaaaah)  
i just wanted to say that your dedication to trolling the shit out of me for so many years is appreciated and all  
so lucky you im writing to you in order to fulfill my neglected duty as a celebrity  
aka interacting with the people who have opinions on my work  
but its not like im going to meet a fan and have them squealing at my feet like some sort of preposterous god or some shit  
yeah instead ill be meeting a hater  
aka you  
and that would be a good occasion for you to do something  
like I don’t know we could fight or hang out and you can cry on my shoulder or spit in my face really is whatever you feel like  
anyway  
yeah  
that’s it  
what do you think?

From: carcinogenetiscist°crockmail.com  
To: turntechgodhead°crockmail.com  
WHAT THE FUCK HOW DID YOU GET MY EMAIL? WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY DO YOU REALLY THINK I’M GOING TO BUY YOUR SHIT? FUCK YOU, RANDOM TROLL.

 

From: turntechgodhead°crockmail.com  
To: carcinogeneticist°crockmail.com

you have an account on the website im the admin of you shithead of course i have your email  
besides do you really think someone would just troll you like that i mean between the two of us youre the troll  
but its just an invitation anyway so youre free to not accept to go on an epic hate date in some fancy restaurant or bar with me or whatever and then diss me in front of everyone just like you do so nicely on the internet  
just thought you might be interested 

From: carcinogenetiscist°crockmail.com  
To: turntechgodhead°crockmail.com  
WOW OKAY YOU’RE SUCH A LOSER.  
…  
…  
YOU,RE GOING TO PAY FOR THE FANCY RESTAURANT?

From: turntechgodhead°crockmail.com  
To: carcinogeneticist°crockmail.com  
ill take that as a yes  
when should we meet?


	8. Horuss Zahhak

The door opened and from them exited Captain Serket and her Chief officer. Vriska with a somewhat disappointed expression, and her mother with a satisfied, if exhausted one. They left the Hall and headed to the elevator without looking back, letting the two weary prisoners of theirs being taken by the guard and shoved into the office. Upon entering they encountered a towering figure of muscles and grim in a suit. They thought perhaps the valuable suit wasn’t the best option for that man, as he was sweating abundantly, creating aureoles of darkened fabric on his torso. Under his dark googles, his pale face looked as if it was made of melting wax.

“Commoneigh.”  
He shook his head gently.  
“Do you realise we, fol% of relevance, have tas% to accomplish? Maybe you, commoneigh, see these as neighgligable to your own path. However, it does make me uneasy to punish you, despite your unforgivable effrontery.”  
“1’m…sorry? 1 guess? 1 s1mply f1gured 1t wouldn’t bother anyone 1f 1…snook up. 1 just wanted to follow my own path, man. Boy…th1s 1s k1nda some crazy sh*t?1 k1nda dunno why 1 d1d th1s.”  
“So you recognize your mistake? I…wasn’t counting on that. It is as well. I…uh…I…”  
“i’M, UH, rEALLY SCARED?”

The STRONG man’s gaze turned to Tavros, who he hadn’t noticed yet. It fell to his wooden legs.  
“ Aranea had forgotten to mention that, uh, situhaytion with your appendages, young commoneigh.”  
“tHAT, UH, wELL, hER DAUGHTER IS KIND OF RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, THAT.”  
Tavros tried to hide his hand behind his back, but he couldn’t due to the fact that his hands were tied up front. He simply tapped his indexes together, shyly.  
“If you two are to serve me, then perhayps we should remedy that. In the meantime you two shall remain bridle. I can afford the lu%ury of two e%pandable slaves. You can go now.”

The two new slaves were now being gotten out of the office. Rufioh tried to resist the urge to get closer to Tavros and tell him a pun. Rufioh failed to resist the urge to get closer to Tavros and tell him a pun.  
“(hey Tavros)”  
“(wHAT)”  
“(let’s just keep being n1ce to h1m. Maybe he can BALE us out.)”  
Tavros laughed with unsuccessful subtelty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...am I making a fool of myself? I'm making a fool of myself, aren't I?  
>  (btw I hadn,t given up on this shit I had finals)


	9. hate date? (part 2)

“Hello Dave.”  
“hey”  
“Are you working presently?”  
Sat on the couch, the telephone between his ear and his shoulder, Dave looked down on the video game controller he was holding.  
“yeah definitely”  
“Good. So am I. The thing is we had quite an argument over the script for the movie, the production team is really adamant about cutting some parts which happen to be essential to the sequels, really, it’s like they haven’t read the book at all. But that argument is settled now, however we are running late on the production schedule ergo we have decided to pull a few more hours today to catch up. I won’t be home tonight, I simply wanted you to know that.”  
“wait no no no you cant tonight i have a meeting with my hater were going to a restaurant you have to watch the kids”  
“Well, I won’t be able to do so. It seems that will be your responsibility. I’m sure you can find a way. I have to go. Goodbye.”  
“no please wait are you sure you…”  
“Goodbye.”  
She hung up. Dave sighed. He looked a few seconds at his daughter a few feet away, drawing merrily at the kitchen table with crayons, sat on her knees on her chair. In a few minutes Dirk would be back home from school, and in three hours he was supposed to meet with Karkat. Well this didn’t leave many options. He dialed.  
“HELLO?” Karkat answered.  
“hey uh its dave from that thing we are supposed to do tonight”  
“HOW DID YOU GET MY FUCKING NUMBER?”  
“its called a phonebook and its been on the internet for quite some time”  
“IF IT’S ON THE INTERNET, THEN WHY IS IT CALLED A PHONEBOOK?”  
“dude I dont know my point is we wont be able to see each other tonight”  
“WHAT? DUDE I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO EAT TONIGHT SO THIS BETTER BE A FUCKING JOKE WHAT’S YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM? I THOUGHT WE HAD SET AN ARANGEMENT.”  
“well the thing is i have to watch over my kids dude”  
“my wife ditched out at the last second and now im stuck with them”  
“YOU HAVE A WIFE??????AND KIDS??????”  
“wow for a guy whos been dissing my work for so many years you really don’t know much about me since all that has been on my wikipedia page for like basically forever”  
“YEAH, GO AHEAD, BRAG ABOUT HOW YOU HAVE A WIKIPEDIA PAGE AND EVERYTHING YOU SMUG FACE BUT IF YOU’RE SO FAMOUS, CAN YOU NOT AFFORD A FUCKING BABYSITTER OR SOMETHING?”  
“i don’t know any”  
“usually im pretty much always at home so its not like necessary or anything”  
“well if youre such in a predicament or whatever you can come to my place to eat anyways ill order pizza or something”  
“SO I CAN HANG OUT WITH THE COOL DAD THAT YOU ARE, UGH, YOU’RE SO LUCKY THAT I’M BROKE OR ELSE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PULL OF THAT STUPID IRONIC ACT OF YOURS OF MEETING A HATER AND EVERYTHING.”  
“yeah well yeah its ironic and its cool and all but come on i know that you only superficially hate me otherwise it would just have been stupid”  
“ARRRGHH”  
“alright hold on lemme give you my address just come around at the same time we schedule it should be cool”  
“ARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHH”  
\----------  
Dave was watching cartoons along with his young daughter Roxy when the doorbell rang. He used the interphone to make Karkat come in. The adult male took a few minutes to go from the hallway to the loft’s doorway, and then stood in it grumpignly. Dave and him saw each other for the first time.

“hahahaha man”  
“Karkat right?”  
“you look just like i imagined”  
“look at those dark circles”  
“HEY CUT IT OFF OKAY YOU’RE WEARING SUNGLASSES INSIDE.”  
“ive got my reasons okay?”  
“I’M SURE IT’S STUPID.”  
Dave stood up and went in front of Karkat. He presented his hand for a fistbump.  
“i mean nice to meet you”  
Karkat answered with a tired expression.  
“oh come on dont leave a fistbump hanging thats like basic curtesy”  
“FUCK OFF”  
“im in my own house”  
Roxy who had been watching from a distance approached and with a malicious smile clung to Karkat’s leg.  
“ mister angryface i gotchu leyg!!!:P”  
“meet my daughter dear sweet precious roxy shes adorable”  
“I DON’T LIKE KIDS”  
“of course you don’t i bet you dont like christmas either or sunny days or being happy”  
“SUNNY DAYS ARE A PAIN IN MY FUCKING MUTANT EYES AND I ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO FUCKING LOVE CHRISTMAS, IT BRINGS ME NICE MEMORIES OF MY FAM…”  
He stopped mid-sentence. And facepalmed. After a few seconds, he said,  
“ACTUALLY, NO, I HATE CHRISTMAS”  
“sorry to hear that”  
“DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE…ANY BEVERAGE WHICH MAY BE OF THE ALCOHOL TYPE?”  
“our fridge and cupboards are fucking filled with those suit yourself”  
Karkat walked to the kitchen and opened a few cupboard before finding one which happened to contain the liquors. He took a bottle of Vodka and headed to the hallways. He opened a couple of doors before finding and locking himself up in the bathroom.  
“I’M SORRY BUT IT WAS A FUCKING MORONIC IDEA TO COME HERE.”  
Dave followed him and stood in front of the bathroom door, his hands in his pockets, slightly unsettled. Roxy, who had released Karkat, was watching everything from a few feet away, eyes wide open.  
“uhhhhh”  
“alright”  
“i can see there is some serious breakdown shit going on here and im not sure why”  
The only response was the sound of a gulp and of a glass bottle being put on ceramic tile.  
“look dude”  
“im not sure why youve been obsessed with me for so long it obviously has some deeper roots what with your ex and all i never really got that story you kinda spilled chaotically on me throughout the years but if you have issues you should probably go see someone whos more qualified than me for that”  
“you seem like a cool dude if without all the bullshit”  
“and if it would help to tell me some stuff then maybe do it its better than getting yourself drunk alone in silence on a bathroom floor”  
“…”  
“I’M SORRY IT’S JUST I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE AFTER ALL YOU DID TO ME YOU’RE STILL ALL OVER IT AND FROLICKIGNLY HAPPY WITH YOUR WIFE AND KIDS AND BECAUSE OF YOU I’M A PATHETIC MESS.”  
“I’M SO FUCKING PATHETIC.”  
“dude just tell me”

Karkat took a deep breath and another gulp of vodka.  
“FIFTEEN YEARS AGO PRETTY MUCH I WAS WITH MY EX AND WE HAD MET AND I WAS YOUNG AND HAPPY AND FUCKING DUMB.”  
“yeah good tell me”  
“SHUT UP. SO, ABOUT TWO YEARS AFTER I WAS STILL FUCKING YOUNG AND DUMB AND AT SOME POINT SHE ANNOUNCES ME SHE’S PREGNANT AND I SWEAR I ALMOST HAD A PANIC ATTACK. I WAS IN NO WAY PREPARED TO HAVE A FUCKING BABY, YOU KNOW?”  
“yeah i get that”  
“BUT I EVENTUALLY GAVE IN AND FUCKING RAISE THE KID BECAUSE I WAS FULL OF NOBLE IDEALS AND MY GIRLFRIEND WAS A BIT OLDER THAN ME AND SHE HAD HER LAW DEGREE AND WE COULD MAKE IT OKAY. AND TURNS OUT IT WAS FUCKING GREAT. I MEAN YEAH SOMETIMES IT WAS ANNOYING AND TIRING AND SHIT BUT ULTIMATELY IT WAS SO REWARDING LIKE I WASN’T EVEN PREPARED FOR THAT AND I THOUGHT I HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION.”  
“thats cool for you”  
“WELL THAT WAS BEFORE THINGS TOOK A TURN FOR THE FUCKING BLEAK. LIKE I HAD NEVER SUSPECTED ANYTHING WRONG FOR A SECOND BUT OUT OF NOWHERE MY GIRLFRIEND STARTED ACTING WEIRD AND ALOOF AND ANNOYING AND THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD FUCKING DO ABOUT IT. LIKE SHE HAD DECIDED ON HER OWN TO RUIN OUR FUCKING RELATIONSHIP, IT WAS TERRIBLE. CAN YOU FUCKING GET THAT?”  
“kinda”  
He paused. He took another gulp of vodka.  
“AND THEN WHEN OUR DAUGHTER WAS FIVE SHE WANTED TO TEAR APART AND I DIDN’T REALLY THINK IT WAS NECESSARY BUT SHE INSISTED AND I INSISTED AND THEN SHE DROPPED THE FUCKING BOMB.”  
“SHE DROPPED IT LIKE IT WAS FUCKING WORLD WAR 3 AND SHE WAS NUKING EUROPE.”  
“AND I WAS FUCKING EUROPE.”  
“I TRUSTED HER AND I HAD RAISED HER DAUGHTER AS MY OWN ONLY FOR HER TO TELL ME IT WASN’T? I WASN’T THE FATHER OF MY FUCKING DAUGHTER?”  
“thats rough buddy”  
There was a pensive silence.  
“NO. NO I WASN’T. BECAUSE THE FATHER OF MY FUCKING DAUGHTER WAS SOME SHITTY WEBCOMIC ARTIST WHOM SHE HAD MET ON THE INTERNET. SOME SHITTY FUCKING DUDE SHE HAD A FEW FLINGS WITH, WITHOUT COMMITMENT. SOME SHITTY FUCKING DUDE NAMED DAVE STRIDER.”  
“oh fuck”  
Dave had his head abutted against the bathroom door and he was trying to process that thing he just heard. From the other side of the door, Karkat had a cynical laugh.  
“YEAH, I KNOW RIGHT? I FUCKING KNOW. DO YOU FUCKING GET ME NOW?”  
Roxy didn’t understand much of it, but her wide eyes looked at Dave with a bit of confused shock.  
Dave hit his head a few times against the bathroom door.  
The doorbell rang.  
Dave didn’t move.  
It rang again.  
From one of the rooms, Dirk emerged. Without reacting, he passed behind his father who did not move. He went and opened the door.  
“Daaaaad!”  
Very slowly, Dave emerged from his stasis and went to the door. It was the pizza delivery. He got out a few bucks to pay it, put the pizza on the table, along with two plates and no silverware, took a bottle of whisky from the liquor cupboard and went back to the bathroom door, knocked on it and announced,  
“may i join in?”  
The door unlocked. Dave entered. He sat next to Karkat on the cold tile floor, opened the bottle of whisky and took a big gulp he almost spat out.  
“this is disgusting”  
“DON’T YOU HAVE FUCKING CHILDREN TO WATCH OUT FOR?”  
“theyll be fine but i dont know if ill be”  
“WELCOME TO THE CLUB.”  
“the loser club”  
“EXACTLY”  
They drank their respective beverages in silence, Dave complaining every sip he took that it was disgusting, but continuing to drink it nonetheless.  
They probably would have been pitiful judges of how long exactly they did this, but eventually they were drunk and the door handle shook just a little. Dave, who was the closer to it, more or less crawled to open it. A small Roxy covered in tomato sauce and bits of vegetables entered.  
“oh my gop roxchy ur so dirty”  
She wiped her face with her elbow, spreading sauce all over her forearm.  
“i need to PEE!!”  
“well ere i am sos the toilet teres notin oldin u back oh weit yeah teres a grown man wit is face in it yo karkat are u gonna trow up or can roxchy go pee”  
“HRHRRMMM WAIT A MINUT”  
Karkat held his head up and looked around, he then stumbled from kneeling before the toilet to sitting in the bathtub with his arm over his eyes. Roxy climbed difficultly on the throne and did her do, feet swaying in the air, humming a little tune.  
“youre goin to need a bat roxchy you cant go to bed leike tis”  
“but mister angryface is in the bath!!! :o”  
“wel ell get out karkat wy are u triyn to prevent my daugter from takin a bat”  
“I’M DOINGF UCKALL RIGHT NOW!”  
“can u elp me giv mi daugter a bat i don’t tynk i can do tis on my own rigt now”  
“YEAH THAT’SI T AKS THE GUEST TO DO THE BATHWROK FOR YOU LAYZY CUNT”  
“please”  
“OKA YWHATVER”  
Roxy had finished to pee and karkat stubbled once more out of the bath, put down the seat of the toilet and sat on it. Dave turned the spigot of the bathtub and the water started to pour in. He adjusted the temperature to be warm but not too much and started to undress Roxy, if a bit gawkily.  
“ow ow ow!!ow! dad! Ur hurtin mey! ”  
“sorry roxchy but please dont move”  
“WHAT DOI DO?”  
“jus watch te water okai?”  
“I’M NOTF UCKING STUPID”  
“i never sayd you were”  
Eventually, Roxy was undressed, and the bathtub filled appropriately. A bit too much for a toddler, but not dramatically. Roxy was put in it and seemed happy enough as she giggled.  
“okai now i wash er an u play wit er u ave tat toi tere”  
“WHICHO NE?”  
“te plastic puppet and te stycks tere”  
Karkat eventually picked up the puppet and wiggled it in front of the child. She laughed, if a bit inconvenience by Dave who was washing her face, and took one the plastic sticks and agitated it.  
“i’m eh water wizerd!! :P yeahhh!!”  
She giggled some more. It was contagious and eventually both Dave and Karkat started to laugh hysterically. Needless to say they carelessly splashed water everywhere. But eventually, Roxy was clean and Dave wrapped her up in a big towel. They (carefully) stumbled all the way to her room and managed to put her in her pajamas. They put her in bed and they were about to leave when she cried out.  
“ehhhhh!!i wanna bed time story”  
Dave and Karkat looked at each other.  
“uhhhhhh”  
“pleeease!”  
“alrygt”  
Dave turned back to Roxy and began,  
“its te storey about a wizard wo was veri sleepi because he ad drank a magyk potion tat made peeple sleepi”  
“an he didn wanna sleep because he ad a lot of gold tat te dragon waned to steel”  
“but wat he didn no was tat te dragon was too cool to drink money so he slept on te gold instead”  
“te end”

“it suck but okeiy good nite”  
“good nite oney”  
Karkat and Dave went out of the room. They were suddenly very tired themselves. Dave looked at Karkat and they smiled feebly at each other. Dave offered a fistbump. Karkat replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing that fucking chapter it's like, four times the lenght of any other chapter yet but anyway I hope you enjoyed it.


	10. Bugged

Aranea and Vriska exited the fancy elevator accompanied by a familiar *ding*. They were on one of the middle floors of the building, one of those reserved to the countless laboratories of research and development on biotechnologies, robotics, genetics, artificial preservation of organic life to which the edifice was dedicated. On this floor, the grandiose appearance which had been observed in the penthouse was toned down for practicality, with lineoleum flooring instead of marble, and a white, clinical lighting instead of the soothing blue one.  
As the door opened, a forced smile employee with a lab coat greeted them.  
"Welcome to laboratory 08-0216. We were waiting for you."  
They followed him through the sanitized hallways, encountering only one or two apparent scientists, who empressed themselves to leave before being seriously noticed. They stopped in front of a locked door, which had a small window built-in. The employee rattled her set of keys before finding the one she would use on the lock. She carefully opened the door and invited her guests in, closing it afterwards.  
The room was a bedroom. Simple, yet obvious witness of having been inhabited. There were three pieces of furniture present in the room: a white drawer, meant for clothes, on top of which an empty mirror frame throned; a white desk, slightly damaged on the edges with a single pencil left on it; a white bed with white sheet, on which sat a young, expressionless girl. She was maybe nine or ten. She had long, discheveled jet hair and asian skin and traits. Vriska grinned sufficiently.  
The employee who had entered the room with them exposed her condition.  
" The test subject you had submitted was even more useful than we could have predicted. Her particular condition was truly the key to the genetical conditioning we were looking for, even if it did take us many tries to get it right. Since we have all the information we need on behavioural conditioning along with her genetical material, we will not need the test subject anymore. She has been observed to be very different from when you submitted her to us. Where she was agressive, alert and non-docile, she is now calm and obedient, if from time-to-time less engaged in reality that what would be useful to society. She also tends to be indifferent to most strong psychological and physical stimuli. This is a side effect of the tests we've conducted, but will not show in the end result, be reassured."  
"this is gr8," continued to grin Vriska. "Look at what happens to those who oppose me," she told the young girl.  
"what was your name again? Amara?"  
She lifted her robotic arm to test whether the young prototype was as docile as mentionned. She leaned in to touch her arm.  
Except she didn't. Halfway through she was stoppedd in her movement by the articulation in her elbow disjointing. Immediately, the helpful employee reacted.  
"Oh what a shame mistress but this is not my area of expertise, I must get you help immediately!"  
Panicked, she left without taking the time to get the two serkets out of the test's subject room. She, who had witnessed it all, simply shrugged at the commotion. A few minutes later, the employee came back along with a mechanical engineer.  
He leaned on Vriska's out-of-order articulation and mumbled to himself. A few minutes later, Aranea asked,  
‘’Is this going to take much longer? 8ecause if so, I might decide to conduct some accessory errands of my own, if you may allow me.’’  
The engineer lifted his head and answered,  
‘’I will need to replace a few pieces, and I may upgrade the system so it won’t happen again. All of this may take two hours or so.’’  
The other employee immediately added,  
‘’Feel free to come and go for as long as you may desire, we will take good care of your daughter and slave.’’  
‘’ Well, then for all I am concerned, I will go. Do not underestim8 my gr8 interest in the workings of such a technical prowess, 8ut I have 8uisness which is other to attend. Take care, Vriska.’’  
And she clicked and clacked her way out of the laboratories.  
‘’If we may,’’ the man who worked on Vriska’s arm asked, ‘’we could maybe leave to another location?’’  
They all moved to a Technical room, filled with a mixture of unrecognizable equipment and unrecognizable substances laid everywhere. An empty seat was available, and Vriska sat on it. At her great surprise, the young lab rat had accompanied them. The female employee swiftly justified herself,  
‘’She is entirely docile! I just promised her honourable Captain Serket that I would take personal care of the young Aradia.’’  
‘’That’s her name?’’ Vriska said, disdainfully.  
‘’It is, at least, that’s what we called her. You may disagree.’’ simply replied the frightened employee.  
Vriska wondered what her mother, or anyone for that matter, had done to the poor young women to make her such a bootlicker. Aradia was standing quiet and square a few feet away from Vriska. She looked at her with a heightened curiosity, as if trying to remember an old friend.  
‘’I have a feeling I kn0w y0u fr0m s0mewhere,’’ her hallow voice expressed.  
‘’a feeling…that I sh0uldn’t like you.’’  
The whole room froze with tension.  
‘’g00d thing f0r y0u that I d0n’t care.’’  
The room relaxed slightly.  
‘’ Ho Ho, so she does talk,’’ Vriska grinned.  
‘’Well, you seem in much 8etter shape than last time I saw you. At least to my opinion.’’  
‘’ Y0u seem like quite a bitch,’’ Aradia added, which, coming from a young, emotionless girl felt like a simple declaration rather than an insult.  
It almost gave the nervous employee a heart attack.  
‘’I am known to be, sometimes,’’ responded Vriska.  
Aradia shrugged.


	11. hangover

“Dave.”   
“Dave, would you please wake up.”   
After a certain amount of calls, Dave finally streched out of his slumber. In front of him stood Rose, and behind her, the living room. In a matter of a few dozen seconds, he came to his senses about what had happened.   
“rose”   
“Yes.”   
“omg rose”   
“What should I be amazed at exactly? Perhaps it’s the man sleeping on the couch besides you? Or the deplorable state of…”   
“i have a daughter rose”   
“…our appartment. Yes, I happen to know, Dave. I also happen to have brought her into this world myself. Have you been drinking my alcohol? »   
« no i dont mean like roxy i mean another one »   
“are you still under influence? It’s alright, Dave, you can tell me, I won’t be mad, I simply wan’t to know. You have never been much of an orderly person, but this is very unusual. There is cold pizza on the kitchen table, along with crayons and dirty plates, there is water everywhere in the bathroom and I’m fairly sure I didn’t put my whisky and Vodka there. Also, it is nearly one in the morning and I’ve just told Dirk to go to sleep.”   
“oh yeah that »   
« im gonna be honest rose I don’t really remember what happened”   
Rose threw a concerned glare at Karkat.   
“Is that your…”   
“yeah”   
“Did you…”   
“no no no”   
Dave paused.   
“so do you want me to clean or can I go back to sleep”   
“We can take care of most of this tomorrow. I put the pizza in the fridge and the drinks back in my liquor cabinet. You should put on your pajamas and go to bed. As for him…we’ll let him sleep.”   
Suddenly, a detail was brought back to Rose’s attention.   
“Wait , what did you mean about a daughter of yours which wasn’t also mine?”   
“its a long story »   
« like a really long story given that ive never even talked to you about terezi”   
“it was before we met”   
“now it strikes me as odd that ive never mentionned it to you”   
Rose squinted, intrigued.   
“Terewho? Well, I figure you will explain all of this to me. Later. For my part, I’ve had the longest day of my life. Yes, even longer than those writing marathons. Goodnight, Dave.”   
Massaging her sore feet as she walked away clumsily, Rose went to her room.   
Dave looked at Karkat sleeping next to him. Man did that guy look more peaceful when sleeping. His position didn’t look very comfortable. He was resting on one arm of the couch, a hand under his head, another hanging in the air. His legs were crawled up underneath him. Dave had just slept with his head leaning on the other arm of the couch. He got up and extended Karkat’s legs the best he could before heading for his more comfortable bed. He didn’t sleep much.


	12. Nostalgia

Aranea took a deep breath of the city air straight out of the towering building she had just left. It was much different from the great, fresh oxygen from the large she was used to, but it still awoke some nostalgia to her. Atlas had changed. So much yet so little. It was in this very neighborhood she had lived the first twenty years of her life. The Park was there, right across the streets. Two corners down, her old residence, which still technically belonged to her. The two last floors of a large, ancient building still remaining. It dated all the way back to the mid-late 20th century.  
No need to worry. Everything was going according to plan. Even sooner than she would have imagined, the plan of her condescendence would come into motion and she would be at the front of the stage. Only one trip to Antarctica, and one trip the Water cities up north, and all the things she and her fellow highbloods had worked for would finally be secured. She could afford a nostalgic break.  
She strolled peacefully down the park. Many people strolled along. It was in late afternoon. She got lost in her memories. Past ideals, goals, lovers. The only people who still might have known the name ‘’Aranea Serket’’ in a non-fearing way. Well, some of them. Today her name was either unknown or detested by the public.   
Suddenly, she passed a staircase on which a young girl was skateboarding. Caught off guard in her contemplation, she was struck right down. The weight of the girl not being so important, apart from her clothes and the palms of her hands, it was mostly her ego which was struck. A bit angered, she snickered. Another girl, coming down the staircase asked her friend.  
“oh my !?!are you okay!?!?! ”  
The girl answered.  
“n4h gurl 1m f1n3”  
She was bleeding a bit, but to Aranea these could hardly even be called wounds. She at least admired the young girl’s casuality. Her friend retorqued.  
“youre bleeding!! :o”  
Aranea was annoyed.  
“And is no8ody going to enquire a8out me?!?”  
She stood back up, after having reached for the glasses she had lost.  
“These children now are so entitled and dangerous. If I were you, I wouldn’t act so irrationally. You might find some 8ad people in this world. I sell children like you for breakfast.”  
Nothing like a little empty threat to swear off some anger. She smiled to assert further her big-bad-ogre act. Even if her actions made it so it wasn’t much of an act. Couldn’t she? She was good friends with those who basically owned this city.  
The two girls backed away with a priceless expression. It made Aranea laugh. Ah, the good emotions she could stir up in people. She felt a bit guilty afterwards. It was cheap shot at cheap kids, but it didn’t really achieve anything. She prided herself with being a practical person.  
She continued her stroll down the block. On the corner, a familiar café shot her right in her past. She had dated one of the baristas. It hadn’t been a long relationship, but it still stayed with her as one of the most powerful one. She entered the shop.   
Of course, that barista wasn’t working here anymore. Some guy was behind the counter. With an eyebrow piercing, he did look like someone who would definitively look in a café. But he wasn’t Porrim. She glanced at him and then walked right out. Did she even remember her? She wondered.   
What a stupid thing to wonder about. It had all happened nearly twelve years ago, and that barista was already younger than her. Just twenty, at the time. Whereas Aranea had already had Vriska, and was about to start her pirate career.  
Some people in this world just struck more than others. Even if they did nothing. Sometimes, a passerby felt a way that a close crewmember or partner would never be able to. Sometimes, they stay longer, other times they don’t. They just reek with a strong perfume of destiny and stain you. Aranea had met many of these people in her life. Porrim, Horuss and his heir, Vriska, her Condesence and her two heiresses, the renegate captured slave and subsequent lab rat, the young crewmember Vriska enjoyed bullying so much, the young half-wit who worked to power the ship and the stowaway were the ones she could remember atop her head. She had also felt it lightly with the two young girls she had just met. Amongst the hundreds of people she had met in her lifetime, it still felt strange. As if life was telling her never to keep them very far from herself, to never forget their faces. In the case of her daughter or even her bosses, or her ex, it was understandable. But for low crew members, strangers and people who were but splinters on her tongue, it felt weird. Not to mention the reciprocation of that feeling. She would have to discuss with Vriska about this. Even if her daughter would certainly only feign interest in her monologues.   
Where in the world could Porrim be?  
Not in front of her old residence, obviously. Would she dare to enter?   
Would she dare to make herself a target?  
Surely, the small but devoted crowd of those who denounced and hunted her had trapped it. Her extensive library. Her magnificent bedroom. Her countless secret passages she had installed in an absolutely preposterous amount just for the sake of it. They couldn’t just spot her in the street, her face not being known, but these official things like her former address were easy targets.   
Vriska’s arm was most likely repaired by then anyway.


	13. Every day

Very sunny. Great Friday morning in Atlas city.   
Even in the middle-class apartments of the perimeter of the town, not far enough to be called the suburbs, not close enough to be in the center of the action. With their metallic staircases and old-style brick walls, many rows of these buildings lined up. Most of them were composed of one or two bedrooms apartments. In one of them lived a pair of sisters.  
They almost were twenty years apart in age and had lived alone together for as long as they could remember. Or at least, the years prior to that arrangement had fallen deep into the fogginess of a forgettable past. The younger one was fifteen. The older one was thirty-two. Both looked stunning, if perhaps in a prissy way.   
Kanaya (the younger one), was making scramble eggs for breakfast. Porrim entered the kitchen behind her in a loose outfit of mainly underwear. It revealed her many swirling tattoos and made her look like an old-school model of early-21st century urban life. Her piercings didn’t mind. She casually kissed her little sister on the head.  
‘’making breakfast, huh?’’  
‘’It Is Very Important To Start The Day With A Good Meal’’  
‘’I’m glad yo+u’re taking care of yo+urself.’’  
‘’Are You Going To Be Here Tonight?’’  
‘’It depends. I do+n’t have much wo+rk to+ do+ these days, fo+r so+me reaso+ns the fashio+n industry is very slo+w. But I might go+ o+ut in a bar if my heart tells me to+.’’  
‘’But I Thought You Would Respect Our Arrangement’’  
‘’Have You Forgotten We Are Friday?’’  
‘’We’re Friday?’’  
‘’Yes Tonight Is Televisual Feature Horror Evening’’  
‘’We probably sho+uld change the name o+f that. But I have a date. Why do+n’t yo+u invite o+ver the neighbo+r girl? She likes go+re, if I recall well.’’  
‘’You Have A Romantic Rendez-Vous?’’  
‘’Yes. A new girl. Do+n’t yo+u wo+rry, we can watch a mo+vie some o+ther night. Like I said, to+day, yo+u sho+uld invite yo+ur friend.’’  
‘’Yes I suppose’’  
‘’Though She Does Seem Eager To Pair Romantically Elements Which I Am Not Even Sure Can Have Those Feelings’’  
‘’Even If With Modern Cinema We Never Know’’  
‘’O+nce is no+t a crime.’’  
‘’If I Do Encounter Her On My Way To The Educational Facility, I’ll Be Sure To Mention It’’  
‘’I apo+lo+gize fo+r my desertion+n.’’  
Kanaya sighed.  
‘’I Forgive You’’  
Kanaya Poured her scrambled eggs in a plate. Swiftly, if neatly, she ate all of it before washing her dishes and, since she was already dressed for the day, she took her backpack and headed for school. In the hallway, she fell right into her same-floor neighbor, a girl her age with a blue cat beanie, a schoolgirl uniform and a harelip that happened to suit her well.  
‘’Good Morning Nepeta’’  
‘’Good Meowrning :33’’  
‘’How Are You?’’  
‘’I’m a little bit sad, Mr. Roardinger isn’t feeling furry well right now  ‘’  
‘’I Am Sorry To Hear This’’  
‘’but a-paw-rt from that, I’m feline fine :33’’  
‘’I Happened To Be Wondering If You Would Come To My Living Place This Evening To Enjoy Some Visually Bloody Film With Perhaps A Dash Of Romance And Relationship Sprinkled In’’  
‘’Purhaps YES!!!:33 Furry much Yes!!!!’’  
‘’Very Good’’  
‘’I’ll See You Then’’  
‘’I Hope You Enjoy Your Day At School’’  
‘’Purr-vate School is hard, but I work furry hard!’’  
‘’Farewell’’  
‘’*purrs on your lap* See you tonight!’’


	14. Good morning

« good morning family »  
« Good morning, Dave. »  
« gud moning dad :P »  
« ... »  
« … »  
« good morning dirk and karkat »  
Dirk was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a box of cereal and ignoring everyone as usual. Karkat was sitting at the end of the preposterously large table, obviously very uncomfortable. He had an untouched bowl of cereal in front of him, which he had pushed back about a foot away.  
“IS EVERYBODY JUST GOING TO PRETEND THIS IS NORMAL?!?”  
Rose was reading a book calmly, and Roxy was in her pajamas, hanging dangerously from one of the chairs in an attempt to entertain herself.  
“Roxy darling would you please get off this chair if you are not about to use it properly.”  
With regret, Roxy fell swiftly, feet first, luckily, on the ground. For some reason, she would always follow her mother's directions, making Rose one of those obnoxiouly poised mothers from high status families. Maybe the fact that Dave was the one to take care of her most of the time had to do with it.  
“CAN I GO NOW?!” Kakrkat injected once more.  
“Not yet, dear. I’ve already told you it would be a pleasure for me to drive you home. It is on my way to work, naturally.”  
Dave was searching the fridge.  
“wheres the aj”  
“We are freshly out of it. Dirk finished it. Fun fact; did you know that the word ‘agee’ comes from the contraction of ‘apple juice’ which essentially is precisely what it is? The elongated form ceased to be used somewhere along 2035, when apples where scarce because of the low bee population. The abreviation was used to refer to the artificial juice, but when the real drink came back to the average household, the term stuck. Anyways, there is still some coffee left. »  
''thank you for that very long and pointless fact''  
''You're very welcome.''  
Dave closed the refrigirator and poured himself some coffee left in the pot and sat down at the table. Rose closed her book, rose from the sofa and sat in front of him, forming a triangle between him, Karkat and herself. She glanced seriously at him.  
''So I meant to discuss with you about last night. Yes, you will have to further explain what on earth it was you were trying to tell me, but first, I would like to adress a whole other issue concerning our family.''  
''WELL. TIME FOR ME TO GO THEN.''  
Rose acted as if she had just noticed Karkat, even though she undoubtedly had planned his presence from the start. The start being last night before falling asleep when she had reflected upon the thousand ways with which to avoid further catastrophes.  
''Oh, do not worry. It isn't a privte matter at all. I simply meant that it is great time for us to get a babysitter.''  
''OH. WELL THEN. ABSOLTUELY. ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY. I AGREE WITH THIS. GREAT INITIATIVE.''  
''i guess its not a bad thing''  
''I was thinking. I reckon that Meulin has a teenage daughter?''  
''you mean our maid''  
''Yes. She mentionned her being about fifteen, if I recall well. Which I do. We could always ask.''  
''how do you even have that kind of talk with her shes deaf''  
''Maybe if you payed the smallest amount of attention to the political struggles around you, you would have bothered to learn the very language used to communicate non-verbally that is also one of the most universal and the one used by the elite to mock us.''  
''i thought it was because they are underwater''  
''besides i am knoweldgable of the world enough to know these people are assholes''  
''I cannot argue you on that. But I never keep a tool of my belt. My point is it had allowed me to communicate with Meulin and know such things. I will ask her tomorrow.''  
''great''  
''Excellent. If that matter is settled, then we may want to adress the other one. Roxy keep off my liquor cabinet.''  
''shouldnt we wait for dirk to be at school at least''  
Rose facepalmed.  
''Dave. It's saturday. I have work, but there is no school today.''  
''oh yeah right''  
''how do you even keep up with those days of the week thing''  
''honestly most days feel the same to me''  
Roxy wouldn't leave the liquor cabinet. Rose stood up and lift her in the air.  
''Now, missie, I won't say it twice, This is not for children. You play nicely, please.''  
Roxy lamented.  
''Oh deary.''  
''it alright lemme deal with this''  
''roxy do you want some grape gee in a wine glass''  
'' yeaaaa X) ''  
Dave reached for the cupboards, took a plastic wine glass he had specially bought for her, poured some watered-down grape juice in it and sealed it with a sippy cup before handing it to his daughter. Now happy, he sat her down at the coffee table. They had long given up on white carpets and white couches.  
They went back to their affairs.  
''So, where were we, exactly?''  
''the days of the week i think''  
''Oh, yes, right. The matter at hand. Children. Hum, Dirk?'' she turned to him, '' Maybe you could go at John's place today? How does that sound?''  
'' I am grounded, mom. Unless that stopped being a thing that was relevant or something.''  
''Well, I give up then. Dave, I just want to know. Sooner or later I am going to find out. And it may as well be now, with this man around who I am sure is no stranger to all this.''  
''CAN I PLEASE GO. WHY AM I EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. MY HEAD HURTS LIKE SHIT.''  
''I would politely ask you to refrain from swearing in front of the kids if I wasn't already aware that Dave does it all the time.''  
''fuck yea these are just words man''  
''Dave. Before we get sidetracked any further, I'm just going to ask: who's Terezi, and do you have a daughter I don't know about?''  
''shes an ex and apparently though ive never seen her''  
''And what does any of this has to do with him?''  
She nodded her head at Karkat.  
''well he was dating her at the same time i did''  
''which can, ill give you this, get a bit awkward''  
''besides his name is karkat i dont know why youre so shy to ask''  
Rose paused.  
‘’What are you going to do about it?’’  
‘’i dont know’’  
‘’i guess im gonna hang out with karkat hes a sweet dudebro’’  
‘’HAVE YOU CONSIDERED ASKING MY OPINION ON THIS?’’  
‘’dude i owe you a fancy restaurant meal’’  
Karkat rolled his eyes. Dave winked. Which, admittedly, would have been somewhat more flirtatious had he not been wearing his shades that basically obscured the gesture.  
‘’ Dave, I know what we said about our relationship, but if I may meddle a bit, isn’t it a bit rushed to settle on…him?’’  
‘’WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WHAT?’’  
‘’rose what are you insinuating’’  
‘’im just offering him a little support and shit’’  
‘’there is no romance blossoming between us’’  
‘’were just forming a hella sweet club of the dudes who got banged by terezi a long time ago’’  
‘’and who are the two most frequent users of my website’’  
‘’ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT AS A REAL THING OR ARE YOU JUST FUCKING WITH ME? BECAUSE I WANT NO PART OF IT, WHATEVER IT IS YOU MEAN.’’  
‘’oh im sure you do’’  
‘’ill call you back sometime’’  
‘’but right now rose has to go to work’’  
Rose checked the time.  
‘’Dave is right. Come on Karkat.’’  
She picked her car keys and left the apartment.


	15. Journal

Everything was white. The minimalistic room, or should we say confinement cell, was barren from any visual stimuli. Tavros and Rufioh had been brought there because apparently it had been recently liberated. It only had one bed, but they quickly responded to that with a second, identical white sheet bed. Now the space in the room was even lesser. They had to remove the drawer, which was of little use since they were made to wear specific clothes every day. One would have thought this to be a carefully monitored and observed environment, where no slips, hidden prisoner messages or history could be retraced. That would probably have been the case if most non-scientific employees of the facility weren’t idiots. The very first night, when Rufioh went to bed he found under the mattress a half-full journal written by the previous captive. When all hope was lost, this piece of information was a gold mine setting him on what could have happened to these girls he was looking for in the first place.  
‘’huh? Tavros? 1 th1nk…1 found something.’’  
‘’wHAt, uH, wHAT DID YOU FIND?’’  
‘’1t feels like…a book’’  
‘’rEALLY?’’  
Rufioh tried to analyse it at the dim reflction of the hallway’s fluorescent lighting.  
‘’more l1ke a journal. Holy sh*t’’  
‘’cAN YOU, READ IT?’’  
‘’not now…but tomorrow maybe’’  
The next morning they read the first few entries before they were called to their shift.  
*date set to several months ago*  
_I think that’s the right date..._  
 _I hate them_  
 _I hate them all_  
 _I am afraid_  
 _Last night I broked the mirror and they did not put another one_  
 _They try to calm me with needles but it doesn’t work with me_  
 _This book was in the desk with pencils_  
 _I try not going crazy_  
 _I hate them all_  
 _I miss my sister_  
 _And Tavros and Rufioh_  
 _It is cleaner here but I miss Xepala to_  
 _I did good to have made that girl’s arm bited_  
 _But now they are going to hurt me I think_  
 _They study me because I can not be affected by the medicine they give other people to make them calm_  
 _And easy to make them work_  
 _I wanna go_

The second entry was similar  
*date immediately following the first entry*  
_They hurt me_  
 _I don’t know what they want_  
 _I asked they did not answer_  
 _They used their needles to take my blood and made me sleep and when I was awake it hurted_  
 _The have labs and they ask me questions and I don’t answer_  
 _I am very angry_  
 _I threw a tantrum and emptied all the droors_  
 _They removed them from the desk_  
 _But I keep a pencil and my diary_

*a few days later*  
(the page was stained with dried tears)  
_It hurts a lot_  
 _I don’t want to feel the pain_  
 _Sometimes I just start t0 feel n0thing_  
 _And it makes it s0 they can’t hurt me n0 m0re_  
 _It just g0es 0n and 0n_  
 _I d0n’t remember what they did t0 me t0day_  
 _I d0n’t remember very well_

*the next day*  
_No! I need to keep being me! I…I can’t let them win_  
 _Where’s my sister? Is anybody going to help me?_

*a few weeks later*  
_I d0n’t remember writing this_  
 _Was it really me?_  
 _I just feel like all 0f this isn’t really my life_  
 _I’ve led an0ther life and been put in this 0ne because I can’t remember the 0ther 0ne, the real 0ne_  
 _I just feel empty_  
 _What’s the p0int 0f 0pp0sing them?_  
 _They will take it anyway_  
 _I just h0pe I die s00n_  
 _0r n0t, I d0n’t care anym0re_

The remaining pages were all either white, or filled with mindless scribbles, cryptic sentences or words. Many frogs were drawn. Small scenes of ghosts or people crying and living traumatic scenes were also present. Not much else could be taken from that journal.  
‘’oH, oH MY THAT IS…sO SAD.’’  
‘’1t’s Damara’s sister…1 hope she’s alr1ght.’’  
‘’1 don’t th1nk…we need to f1nd Damara, and fast. Get the f*ck out of here.’’  
‘’aBSOLUTELY, yES, dEFENITIVELY,’’ concluded a terrified Tavros.  
They quickly hid their clue as a staff member entered to lead them to whatever was to happen to them today.


	16. History lesson

Dave was sat on the couch, a computer on his lap, working on his comic. At his feet, on the other end of the couch, played a little Roxy who rolled her toy cars on Dave’s feet with a ‘vrrrrrrr’. At the kitchen table worked on his homework Dirk.   
At some point during which Dirk spoke.  
‘’So, it seems I have a half-sister?’’  
Dave waited a few seconds.  
‘’yeah’’  
‘’How old is she?’’  
‘’im not sure a bit older than you’’  
‘’maybe a year or two’’  
‘’And is there a chance for me to ever get to meet her?’’  
‘’no’’  
‘’It seems that would make you uncomfortable. But maybe you’ve just got to fucking grow up dad. Own it.’’  
‘’wow rude maybe you think i like being talked to this way’’  
He closed his laptop.  
‘’what should i do to make myself worthy to you, huh?’’  
‘’is it that im a shitty father because i don’t help you with your homework or because youre just so goddamn brilliant’’  
‘’do you want me to treat you like any other child dirk’’  
‘’I did not mean to insult you. You just work very differently from mom is all.’’  
Dave rose from the couch, careful not to hit Roxy who got out of the way anyway. He sat next to Dirk, ignoring his last comment.  
‘’here lets see what all this homework is about oh wow look at that its about history i may not know much about the colli but let me tell you im starting to know much more about the i part trust me’’  
‘’The Colli is an abbreviation used to refer to the period between 2026 and 2040, including the war from 2035 to 2038. It stands for collective insanity. It was during this period that The Crocker Empress asserted herself atop the power chain in the world with her underwater powerplants known as batters and her worldwide network of information that is better understood under the term ‘internet’ or ‘crockernet’. It is also during this period that the formerly powerful north America became a land inhabited only by farmer and their cattle.’’  
‘’yeah thats what i know about it’’  
‘’That is also what I am supposed to know. But I know much more.’’  
‘’i also know about memes’’  
‘’Yes. They were part of the collective insanity.’’  
‘’they were the golden age of irony’’  
‘’Anime was the ultimate ironic thing about this era.’’  
‘’no way memes were better anime was just shitty but not like as sweet shitty’’  
‘’I strongly disagree with that.’’  
‘’wat are memzies? :?’’  
‘’youre still too young to know roxy but don’t worry ill explain it to you as soon as i can’’  
‘’hmm’’  
‘’yeah no i dont wanna do homework’’  
‘’you work good son’’  
Dave went back to work.  
About twenty minutes later, Dave’s glasses rang. It was Rose.  
‘’Hello? Dave?’’  
‘’yeah’’  
‘’Good news. I texted Meulin who answered me. And she told me that her daughter was too busy with school to babysit, but that she had a neighbor girl who was the same age and does a lot of babysitting. She gave me her number, I called her and she seemed very nice. I’m going to meet her and afterwards we might just have found ourselves a new babysitter.’’  
‘’wow great news how are you even this efficient’’  
‘’That way you can start leaving home from time to time, which I’m sure can do you great good.’’  
‘’yeah i dont get along spectacularly with dirk’’  
‘’What happened?’’  
‘’oh nothing’’  
‘’I doubt you would have said what you just said if it truly was nothing that happened, Dave.’’  
‘’well he somewhat insulted me and i didnt get angry but i was not far from it’’  
‘’I’m sure you’re on the nerves because of what happened, and that he may also be. But since neither of you want to admit any emotional trauma whatsoever that is what ends up happening. I need to go, but if you need any therapeutic help, I’m here for you.’’  
‘’thanks i guess’’  
‘’you never stop with that analysis do you’’  
Rose had already hung up.


	17. History lesson part 2

John had the ensemble of his textbooks and notebooks open in front of him at the kitchen table, but all he really did was tap his pencil rapidly while looking puzzled. His feet dangled from the chair, and on the other end of the table, his sister was starting to get annoyed. After a few minutes, she just called upon her mother.  
‘’What’s wrong, sweetheart?’’  
‘’Johns not being able to do his homework, maybe you should help him!!’’  
‘’Is this true, John?’’  
‘’yeah kinda, mom’’  
‘’Alright.’’  
She pulled a chair and sat next to him.  
‘’So, what is this homework about?’’  
‘’history’’  
‘’More concisely?’’  
‘’the 21st century and Her Imperial Condesce’’  
Jane’s face changed expression completely.  
‘’Oh.’’  
She sighed. Very seriously, she looked at John, grabbing by the same occasion Jade’s attention.  
‘’There are many things you need to know about this, John. Things they won’t teach you in school. Things that are relevant to you and your sister.’’  
Both kids looked intrigued.  
‘’Do you know why you both have your father’s name?’’  
‘’no’’  
‘’Because my last name is Crocker. I wasn’t born with that name, John. I acquired it through much tomfoolery on my part. I was young, and naïve. It was seventeen years ago…’’  
She took a deep breath, ready to drop some heavy exposition.  
‘’A young woman, ambitious as can be. Blinded by what she thought was the goodness of the world. Her path crossed which of a well-established ruler, a, back in the days, heirless Empress trying to polish her image. One of many passing phases of her megalomaniacal mind. She chose the young ambitious woman, a simply named Egbert, and gifted her with many resources so she could thrive in business and establish a fierce baked goods empire. In return, the young, foolish woman, had to give up her name, her life, to the Empress, the one who rules over the energy and knowledge of this world, and accept, if that time was ever to come, to take over the Empire. Of course all of this was bullcrap. The Witch had other plans. But it was a nice marketing coup, for the world loved this young ingénue and her delicious baked good empire.’’  
‘’a mere two years after that, the young, now named Crocker was faced with her first bite of reality. The Condesce had bred and hatched two heiresses of her own, not through traditional reproduction, but through an art she had perfected in her intention, cloning. She had a perfect clone of herself, and one, slightly modified, in an attempt to ’mix it up a bit’.’’  
‘’The former heiress was now but a pawn, like she had always been unknowingly, but she could keep her baked good corporation, and HAD to keep the name that was now meaningless to her. At about that time, she met a striking gentlemen with the soul of an adventurer whom she married, and resigned her public functions, deciding to live a private life despite the will of her mistress, which was to stay dedicated to her. Still occasionally harassed by the Witch, she lived a mostly peaceful life, trying to protect her children from the grip of the one whom she discovers every day is more evil than she used to think.’’  
‘’wow :o, what a story, mom!!!!’’  
‘’it is really impressive!’’  
‘’It’s the story of my life. What I want you to remember, is that whatever they tell you in school, The Imperial Condesce took power not by mere cleverness and goodwill, but by wreaking havoc and pure greed. No one will stop her.’’  
‘’some people at school call her the batterwitch’’  
‘’I like that name for her, it suits her. She lives underwater next to all those precious batters of her. They produce the electricity that we consume. She also has control over the servers that shelter all the information on the Crockernet, and many presume over the factories that produce our everyday goods. She has incredible power, so, and this applies to the both of you, if I want you to despise her with all your hearts, I also want you to be discreet about it. Her power extends all the way to here.’’  
‘’But I thought Atlas was a democratic city-state!! :o’’  
‘’Officially, yes. Officiously, not a single drop. Few truly strive for justice in this wretched world.’’  
‘’ Latulas mom is a prosecutor!!Does that mean shes bad?? ’’  
‘’No…not necessarily…Latula is a sweet girl. But Things still may not be what they seem. Just keep quiet until you know enough to play your cards well, Jade.’’  
‘’thats an obtuse thing to say?!?’’  
‘’I thought it was very clear.’’  
John, who had stopped dangling his feet, started doing it again.  
‘’okay, great, mom, but what am I supposed to write in my homework?’’


	18. cut to the chase

Latula opened the front door and walked inside her house. She roamed around the different rooms until she found the one in which was dwelling her mother. The office, of course. When she entered the room, her mother instantly lifted her head, like a dog who had felt something suspicious.  
‘’WHY DO YOU SM3LL L1K3 BLOOD, L4TUL4?’’  
‘’oh, don’t br34k a sw34t, mom, 1t’s just som3 scr4tch3s. 1t’s bound to h4pp3n wh3n you’r3 a tot’s sw33t rid3r’’  
‘’but, y’know how you told m3 1f 3v3r 1 3ncout3r3d som3th1ng susp1c1ous, 1 sould t3ll you?’’  
‘’Y3S.’’  
‘’w3ll, 1 h4v3.’’  
‘’WH4T?’’  
‘’1t w4s 4 wom4n. 1 f3ll on h3r 4nd sh3 told us sh3 sold ch1ldr3n.’’  
‘’TH4T SOUND L1KE 4N ODD TH1NG TO S4Y.’’  
‘’1 m4y b3, l1ke, p4r4phr4s1ng.’’  
‘’yo dud3 th4t’s such 4 snooty th1ng to s4y, ‘’p4r4ph4s1ng.’’  
‘’WHAT DID SHE SMELL L1K3?’’  
‘’why would 1 know wh4t sh3 ‘sm3lls’ l1k3? L1ke, com3 on, 1 don’t 3v3n know how you ro4m 4round sm3lling stuff, lik3, wh4t do3s it 3v3n f33ls to sm3ll th1ngs. 1 h4v3 such 4 sh1t nos3. Sh3 w4s w34r1ng 4 blu3 4nd bl4ck j4ck3t, 4nyw4y.’’  
‘’ BLU3B3RR13S 4ND L1COR1CE?’’  
‘’y34h 1 dunno sounds 4bout r1ght.’’  
‘’WHY DON’T YOU 4SK YOUR FR1END? SH3 4LW4YS KNOWS TH4T.’’  
‘’y34h ok4y sur3’’

Latula used the mobile function of her glasses so she could contact Jade. She responded within a few minutes.  
‘’4p4rently sh3 sm3ll3d l1k3 th3 oc34n.’’  
‘’SO SH3 JUST SM3LL3D F1SHY.’’  
Terezi grinned.  
‘’th4t c4n’t b3 good.’’  
‘’W3 SHOULD GO S33 TH3 DOCKS. 1T WOULD M4KE S3NS3 1F SH3 W3R3 ON3 OF THOS3 SCOUDR3LS 1’V3 B33N CH4S1NG FOR Y34RS BUT H4V3 4LW4YS M4N4G3D TO 3SC4P3 JUST1C3. S3R1OUSLY, 1T’S 1NFUR14T1NG.’’  
‘’1t’s b33n 4ll you’v3 3v3r compl41n3d 4bout s1nc3 43v3r, mom. So y34h, th4t m4k3s s3ns3.’’  
‘’H3H3H3…TH3Y’R3 ST4RT1NG TO F33L SO CONF1D3NT…1T W1LL B3 TH31R DOOM. S3RK3T 4ND H3R M1N1ONS…YOU 4R3 GO1NG TO 3ND UP D4NGL1NG FROM 4 ROP3. L3T’S GO TO TH3 DOCKS.”

Terezi and Latula were walking in the unrestricted section of the docks, and they observed the big ships from afar. Many seemed unremarkable, private embarkations, cargo ships, etc. Latula described all the ships she could see to her mother, who eliminated all but four ships as suspicious. Once that process was done, they entered one of the administrative buildings and asked for help. They were redirected to a desk where a tired-looking lady didn’t even bother to greet them.  
‘’H3LLO 1 N33D TO S33 TH3 T1M3 OF 3NTR4NC3 4ND D3P4RTUR3 OF 4LL SH1PS PR3S3NT 1N TH3 H4RBOR, 4LONG W1TH TH3 R3GIST3R3D OWN3R’S N4MES.”  
“I apologize ma’am but that information is confidential. Unless you have a special authorized pass for a specific ship…’’  
“1’M 4 PROS3CUTOR.”  
‘’Do you have a mandate?”  
“1 H4V3 4 M4ND4TE TO DO MY JOB, D1PSH1T.”  
“then let me redirect you to my superi…”  
“NO MOR3 FUCK1NG 4ROUND, PL34S3. 1 WON’T GO UNT1L YOU G1V3 M3 WH4T 1 W4NT 4ND TH3N SHUT YOUR TR4P 4BOUT 1T.”  
The lady let a heavy sighed and then simply tapped a few keys and turned around the monitor so they could see the information they wanted. Terezi snapped a picture of the screen, and then grinned politely.  
“TH4T W4S 4LL 1 4SK3D. TH4NK YOU 4ND H4V3 4 GOOD D4Y.”  
As they got back home, Terezi explained her tHoughts to Latula:  
‘’TH1S L1ST PROB4BLY DO3SN’T H4V3 4NY KNOWN N4M3S OF TH3S3 OFF3ND3RS. BUT 1 C4N ST1LL SC4N TH3 L1ST FOR TH3 OWN3RS OF TH3 SUSP1C1OUS SH1PS 4ND F1ND THE1R 4CT1V1T13S THROUGH TH3 1NT3RN3T. 1F 1 DON’T F1ND 4NY R3GIST3R3D 4CT1V1T13S, OR OTH3RW1S3 4NYTH1NG SUSP1C1OUS, 1 C4N D1R3CT FURTH3R 1NV3ST1G4T1ON.”


	19. House Help

Kanaya was standing in front of the microwave, paying close attention to every pop that came out of it. After a few minutes of the bowl spinning slowly through the transparent surface, she finally released the snack from its prison. She joined her neighbor on the couch of her apartment.  
‘’I Have Finalized Preparation Of The Burst Kernels’’  
“Meowgnificent! I chose the mewvie we are going to watch! It looks furry funny!’’  
Kanaya looked at the screen, where a box cover had been selected. On it, a werewolf screamed at the moon while in the background a few attractive fanged females looked dramatically at each other. She had already seen that one, but she didn’t mind.  
‘’Oh Alright’’  
She sat in between her sister and her cat-themed friend.   
“I apologize fur cancelling last minute yesterday , but my furiend asked me for a favor and I couldn’t say no :3. Thanks fur intiving me today, though!! :33’’  
‘’Even If I May Not Understand The Intricacies Of Prioritizing Last Minute Plans Over Slightly Less Last Minute Plans Because Of Pure Attachment I Do Understand That It Wasn’t Your Own Volition’’  
‘’Thus My Forgiveness’’  
‘’Well I cat say no to Equius… He’s the one pawying fur my purrvate school…”  
“If There Are Financial Reasons Then Your Forgiveness Is Doubled’’  
“which gets me to think… my mother got asked today about a babysitting job fur you. I heard you do that, don’t you? :33’’  
“I Do Occasionally”  
“Do you know Rose Lalonde?”  
“She Is My Favorite Author”  
“She’s the one asking :3 !!!’’  
“Then I Am Overjoyed By This Proposition”   
“To The Point Where I Might Not Believe It Anymore”  
“Even If Her Brilliance Does Have Two Offspring”  
“it’s true :33! My mother knows a lot of impurrtant people! She works fur them! That’s how I met Equius!”  
“Your Financially Relieving Friend”  
“I’d like him even if he didn’t paw fur my education!”  
“I Don’t Doubt Your Intentions”  
Porrim interrupted the conversation.  
“Can we perhaps begin the mo+vie?”  
“Yes! I just need to know if I can say yes to my mom!:3”  
“Tell Her It Would Be My Pleasure”  
Then Nepeta pressed play.


	20. Antarctica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damara's language can be crude. Google translate at your own risks.

The ship moored early in the morning, that is to say at dawn, but not because it was the morning, rather because it was spring. The sun drew a line on the horizon, a line that would not move forward for a few days still. The 4 million inhabitants of the city had just spent six months in the dark of the winter. The landscape was impressive. Enormous factories covered the activity with a large quantity of smog, the rocky and occasionally snowy nature was visible only in parts, and always from afar. Sirens screamed from time to time, and among it all, a single, luxurious building stood tall, its magnificence transgressing the layers of dirt and ashes it had been covered with. People seemed to roam more or less freely the spaces in between the buildings, but anyone who looked closer could decipher the ankle monitors and the abundance of armed patrol officers. Most wore the same, worn out clothes. Some had as accessories pieces of harmless junk they found or kept from another life, long lost.  
Many cargos were similarly moored to the extensive harbor. They were loading ships of consumption goods, freshly manufactured. When Aranea and Vriska got out of their ship, they were welcomed by an army of patrol officers, as usual. For once, they did not have a full cargo of new citizens for this lovely town, but a single girl. Their main duty was to be messengers. They left for the glorious building in the center of town, leaving to subordinates to lead the poor girl where now belonged.  
They were nice, in a way, because they had had already prepared a place for her, not very far from someone she used to know. They were not very nice in another way, because that was simply nailing the fact that she wouldn’t recognize her, or care much about it.  
They knocked on the door. And left before it could open. When it did, a little dressed woman, smoking a precious and rare cigarette, opened to see her.  
“Aradia ！ ？どのように地球上であなたはここにいますか？どのくらい彼らはお尻であなたを犯しませんでしたか?”  
“Has any0ne ever t0ld y0u y0u had a thick accent?”  
“今ここにいる時間はありません！私たちは今、いくつかの深刻な混乱の中でファック深いです。”  
Her sister simply grabbed Aradia by the arm and shoved her numb body in the one room apartment. The only furniture was a suspicious-looking mattress on the floor. The room did not have window. A few clothes were scattered on the floor, but Damara was wearing nothing like the others. A short skirt and a bra, along with some thigh high all under a wide open kimono-style short bathrobe. She also had a heavy amount of makeup on, most notably bright red lipstick.  
“これらのろくでなしのお客様は、ここで彼らが望むいつでも来て、彼らはあなたを見れば、彼らはあなたが知っている、ピースをお勧めします”  
“wh0 are you? Do I kn0w y0u? Sh0uld I care?”  
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Damara opened. It was a younger boy, perhaps in his mid-teens, wearing the same as everybody else, apart from a pair of old-school cardboard and thin plastic 3D glasses. He also had teeth all over his mouth, in the least favorable way possible.   
“Here ii am 2uppo2ed to give you thi2, 2o there you go”  
It was a short paper note. Damara took it, read it and quickly answered.  
“どのようにロマンチックな。私は彼のディック今夜を吸うだろう彼に言います。”  
“ii’m not goiing to tell him that.”  
“その後、多分あなたは永遠にこのたわごと穴に滞在したいです”  
“oh, iif iit’2 for the rebellion then I gue22 it’s okay.’’  
“彼はダムそうクソです。そして、角質.”  
“ii don’t need detail2.”  
“Ju2t tell me that everything 2tiill 2tand2”  
“うん、確かに、ハンサムな男の子”  
“Alriight. My brother tell2 me the 2ame thing”  
“we’re probably all going 2 diie, but iit’2 better than 2tayiing here, ii gue22.”  
“Be ready, iit’2 for the 13th”  
“私の体は常に準備ができています”  
“2ure, whatever. ii have work 2 do, so ii’ll go now.”  
So he left. Damara closed the door and looked at her bored but attentive sister.  
“私たちは、逆さまにこの世界を投げている、赤ちゃん女の子”


End file.
